Donovan Ware’s super 16 birthday party was more than your average cake-and-punch gathering. The East Gaston High School 10th-grader started the day as his normal self, but by 6 p.m., he had joined the ranks of the undead.

Donovan Ware’s super 16 birthday party was more than your average cake-and-punch gathering. The East Gaston High School 10th-grader started the day as his normal self, but by 6 p.m., he had joined the ranks of the undead.

His mom, Lisa Ware, threw a zombie-themed celebration for him at the Pharr Family YMCA ballroom on Sept. 21, which included bringing in professional makeup artists from area company Gregory FX to provide the full zombie treatment.

Gregory Hewett, owner of Gregory FX, and assistant Jordyn Boci used their special effects skills to transform Donovan, Lisa and eight others into zombies. The birthday boy got a movie-quality makeup job, while the remaining zombies received quicker makeovers. Other party-goers came already dressed in zombie or horror-themed costumes, and about 55 kids and 30 adults joined in the festivities.

Hewett also brought along local actor Troy Jackson, made up in complete zombie attire.

Making monsters

Hewett has been doing special effects makeup professionally for eight years, but he first started experimenting when he was in sixth grade.

“I’ve always been really artistic. I’ve never really had to take any classes,” he said. “(Gregory FX) is one of the only full-service special effects labs in Charlotte.”

Hewett said he and his team do all of the work in their own lab, and they also have a portable lab for events or on-location films. Hewett’s work includes making prosthetics, monster suits and dental appliances, as well as doing makeup for independent films, opera and theater productions, EMS and first-aid mock scenarios, Halloween events and charity events. At the beginning of September, Hewett was busily preparing for three upcoming zombie runs, where he would be transforming race participants into flesh-eating monsters.

Party time

Donovan Ware’s zombie birthday party was the second one Hewett has done so far, and he’s booked for a zombie-themed wedding and may do a werewolf/vampire-themed party in the future.

“So far, the parties have been very successful. We’ve had good turnouts,” Hewett said.

Hewett was at MonsterCon, a horror, sci-fi and comic book convention, when someone inquired about birthday parties, sparking the idea. After Lisa and Donovan Ware met Hewett at the Mad Monster Party convention in Charlotte, they decided a zombie party would be something fun and different.

“I decided to hire them because we love ‘Walking Dead’ and other zombie films and thought it would be a great theme for my son’s super 16,” Lisa Ware said.

Ware said Hewett did a great job at her son’s party and the makeup was even better than she expected.

“(Donovan) was so happy. He was thrilled. All the kids thought it was awesome,” she said. “The party was a blast, and it was definitely entertaining. … The whole point was making my son happy, and I definitely succeeded with that.”

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Zombified

Lisa Ware and Hewett agreed that “The Walking Dead” has contributed to the zombie craze, as well as Syfy’s makeup reality show “Face Off,” Hewett said.

“Everything is going zombie. I don’t understand it, but it’s cool,” he said. “It really is a big trend. If you go into a store, they’ve got anything you can think of zombie-fied.”

You can reach lifestyles reporter Andrea Honaker at ahonaker@gastongazette.com or 704-869-1840. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/andi384 and read her blog at lifelessons.blogs.gastongazette.com.